Fantasy Novels Get a Bad Rap

October is an exciting month for any YA lit fan, because it includes Teen Read Week! In honor of this annual celebration of young adult literature, YALSA invited book-loving teens all over the world to apply to share their enthusiasm for reading in a guest post for The Hub. Thirty-one talented young writers were chosen, and we’ll be featuring posts from these unique voices all month long. Here’s Megan Doehner.

Fantasy novels kinda get a bad rep. Sure, when you hear “fantasy” you automatically think of unicorns and princesses, right?

WRONG. Fantasy novels are so much more than that. They let you escape to another place that only exists in the imaginations of authors, and they are generous enough to share their wonderful worlds with us.

Even if you’re not a huge fantasy fan and think that magic and stuff is just a waste of time, I’d still recommend branching out and trying new things. I found some of my favorite books by exploring new reading genres, and firmly believe in the “Don’t knock it til you’ve tried it” attitude.

Here are a few fantasy novels that I think you’ll absolutely love.

Cinda Williams Chima’s novel The Demon King is a perfect example of one of those books that will absolutely blow your mind. Action, romance, adventure, spying, and, of course, who doesn’t love a little magic thrown into the mix? Honestly, this is probably my favorite series in the history of my reading repertoire, and trust me, I have a large library in my collection.

Here’s a little teaser to get you excited.

Han Alister never thought he was going anywhere other than the streets, he was an amazing streetlord to say the least, but he knew that thugs in his position rarely survived past twenty. If only there were something more, a way to get away from it all, a way to get those telltale trademark silver cuffs off his wrists…Raisa ana‘Marianna doesn’t want to get married, plain and simple. She still longs to see the world and find her true love, not be forced into a marriage simply to gain diplomatic ties. She knows she’s in line for the throne, but has never truly met the people she’s bound to rule. What better way to find out about them than to become one of them for a day? Fates have been sealed as these two strangers’ lives slowly intertwine with one another’s, creating a powerful thrill that’s sure to capture your heart.

Unfortunately, when I finished The Seven Realms series I was on vacation in Florida, sitting by the pool. As soon as I read the last sentence, I closed the book, died on the inside from extreme contentment and happiness, and stared off into the distance pondering the meaning of life. THAT’S how you know you’ve read the work of a true master.

Now, to some people I have committed a mortal sin by saying this, but I have yet to finish the Harry Potter series. And no, I have not seen the movies either.

Let’s just say that my caretaker as a child did not approve of “dark magic,” and believed that if I read these books I would become an evil witch and destroy the world as we know it.

To make all you Harry Potter fans feel better, I am currently tackling the series one by one, and am proud to announce that I have joined Pottermore and have discovered my true identity as a member of Hufflepuff. So in case you’ve been living under a rock for the past 15 years (or like in my case, under the thumb of a superstitious nanny), here’s the gist of the wonderful tale of our favorite wizard, Harry Potter.

Life as a normal human being is just that- normal. Unless, that is, you are the famous Harry Potter, only survivor of an attack by the dreaded dark wizard, Voldemort. You’d think that you’d be revered for this, right? Get some special treatment? Uh, not so much. Actually, Harry Potter receives the very opposite. After eleven long years of torment and anguish by his gruesome aunt, uncle, and cousin, Harry’s true identity as a wizard is finally revealed to him. He is then free from the clutches of his awful relatives, and is off to the greatest school of wizardry the world has ever known: Hogwarts.

The last recommendation I have for you is actually a mix of fantasy and sci-fi. Everyone knows the story of Cinderella, right? Well, you’ve never heard it told like this before.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Lihn Cinder is just your everyday mechanic, fixing androids and working on hover cars. Of course, it does come naturally based on the fact that she is a cyborg. Graciously, Lihn Audri humbled herself to take in this poor cyborg orphan, or so she says. Truthfully, she keeps Cinder as her family’s servant, holding her hostage with the constant threat of volunteering her for the lethal cyborg draft. But when Cinder has a chance to help repair the android of Prince Kai, the heartthrob of every girl in the Commonwealth, her world opens up to a life of secrets she never knew she had.

You know that feeling when you get your friends to read one of your favorite books and they like it?

 

Yeah. That’s basically me right now.

I hope you enjoyed my suggestions and try something new, because nothing is better than falling in love with a book. Nothing.

Happy reading!

Your favorite wackadoo,

~Meg, who has read her weight in books, can’t stand it when people do not bend their thumbs (they’re there for a reason), thoroughly enjoys writing and patterns, has four alarms set in the morning to make sure she actually gets out of bed, and is easily distract…wait, what?